1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to swimming aids, and more particularly, to a training device for swimmers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Swimming is enjoyed by many people and is often done for pleasure and/or competition. Competitive swimmers often practice to improve their technique and muscle stamina.
There are four primary forces acting on a swimmer while swimming. In a vertical plane, buoyancy offsets the weight of the swimmer. However, since people have varying natural ability to float, another means of overcoming the swimmer's weight must be employed. This is accomplished from the arm stroke and kick. By pressing down on water, an equal an opposite reaction occurs, which lifts the swimmer higher in the water. The other primary forces are the thrust or propulsive force and drag.
Drag can be divided into two components: pressure drag and skin friction drag. Pressure drag comes from the frontal area exposed to the water and the separation that occurs behind the swimmer. A swimmer must streamline his/her body to reduce the amount of separation. Drag from skin friction, on the other hand, increases when the swimmer becomes more streamlined, since more surface area is exposed to the water. However, this is not really a concern, as the pressure drag is dominant and, therefore, the overall drag decreases.
Generally speaking, the arm stroke produces the majority of the thrust. The difference between swimmers is how the arm stroke is used to produce thrust. The best swimmers not only achieve thrust by pushing back on the water, but also by moving their hands and arms like a propeller. An efficient arm stroke involves moving the arm along a curvilinear path. This way the swimmer is always pushing back on still water. The advantage here is that the still water offers more resistance than the water that is already moving back. The kick provides a stabilizing effect in addition to thrust. Most swimmers only get a small amount of propulsive force from their kick. The first way to improve the kick is to keep the feet in the water. When swimmers feet enter the water, a significant amount of air enters as well. The air increases the drag as well as reducing the propulsive effect. The best swimmers go further by moving their feet during the kick to produce the same lift force achieved by their hands.
Proper swimming technique however, requires much training and improper technique often leads to inefficient swim strokes that slow a swimmer down. There is a need for a swimming aid training device that assists a swimmer to improve swim technique. Several designs for swimming aids have been developed in the past. None of them, however, include a buoy assembly and a fin assembly, wherein the buoy assembly is shaped to fit onto the calf area of a swimmer. A swimmer to improve their swimming technique when swimming wears the instant invention.
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,727 issued to Rangel on Apr. 2, 2002 for Swimming Aid With Movable Fins. However, it differs from the present invention because Rangel teaches a swimming aid that includes a support panel fastened to an arm and/or leg with two movable fins extending along the panel. The fins are configured so that when a swimmer is moving his or her limb in a power stroke, the fins will pivot outwardly to increase the width pushing against the water, increasing swimmer efficiency and speed. During the recovery stroke, the fins pivot back against the limb, reducing the resistance to limb movement. A strap extending through slots in the support panel and the fins serves to hold the assembly to the swimmer's limb while providing the pivot line and the extent to which the fins will pivot during a power stroke. Several different arrangements of support panel, fins and strap path may be used. In one embodiment a further top member of flexible material is secured over the fins opposite the support panel.
Applicant believes another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,075 issued to Waller, Jr. on Oct. 8, 1991 for Directional fins for body and body board surfing. However, it differs from the present invention because Waller, Jr. teaches a fin assembly for assisting a body or body board surfer in steering. It is comprised of a vane-like fin member, generally planar shaped and a securing device for securing the fin member to the limb of a surfer so that the fin projects generally downwardly into the water from the undersurface of the surfer's body. Preferably, oppositely directed right and left hand fin members are provided for securing to right and left hand limbs, respectively, of the surfer. The fin member has an enlarged base from which the fin projects, and the securing device is designed to secure the base against the appropriate limb so that the fin projects generally outwardly.
Applicant believes another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,173 issued to Lerro on Dec. 23, 1997 for Swimming Instructional Device. However, it differs from the present invention because Lerro teaches a swimming instructional and training aid, comprising a combination floatation and positioning member adapted to encircle or attach to a body joint of the extremities, i.e., the knee, ankle/foot, elbow and wrist/hand joints, the member being relatively rigid yet retaining some flexibility and configured to restrictively maintain the body joint in a preferred angular position as determined by proper swimming technique, the member being comprised of a buoyant material whereby the body joint is lifted to the surface of the water when the member is in place.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.